Soliom Video Doorbell review: This video doorbell is powered by the sun, but fails to shine

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The GoodSoliom's $199 Video Doorbell is solar-powered and has a microSD card slot for local storage -- two clever, unique features for a smart buzzer.

The BadThe app, in its latest software version, is very glitchy. Every time I tried to enable motion detection, the app changed the setting back to "disabled." It doesn't support any smart home platforms.

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The $199 Soliom Video Doorbell (£155 and AU$265, converted) has a couple of things going for it: It's solar- and battery-powered, and it has a microSD card slot for optional local storage (the microSD card is sold separately).

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You don't find those features on many smart doorbells. They're clever additions because you can bypass any need to hardwire your buzzer -- or pay for cloud storage. And even if you don't want to buy a microSD card and go the local storage route, Soliom's app can store as many as 20 video clips at a time in the cloud. That isn't many, but it's something.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get this product to work. At all. And I don't recommend that you buy it.

That said, there's a lot of opportunity for the Soliom Video Doorbell to improve over time. It's still in the midst of its Kickstarter campaign, and I technically reviewed a "test production unit." A spokesperson for the startup told me the full production unit "will have a little bit better performance." Here's hoping.